Free Valuable Digital Tools No One Tells You About.

There are thousands of digital tools out there created to help us get more work done easily and without wasting resources. Daily, Software and Web Developers stay on top of things to ensure that these tools they launch out work beyond the expectations of users. If business owners and individuals had to pay for every single tool out there, there’ll be a large hole in our pockets. Now that some generous innovators have put out these free valuable digital tools, some users might be overwhelmed or unsure which is best for them. We’ve created this article to let you in on some of the unpopular tools we use and highly recommend. Yes, they are all free and do not require any tech knowledge to get started.

Let’s dive in right away.

Counting Characters

We are opening this list of free valuable digital tools with the Counting Characters tool which contains a host of other very useful tools and resources for digital marketers and owners of small businesses. Two major issues this tool solves includes counting text characters and changing alphabet cases. It accurately presents the number of characters with and without space, as well as the total number of words and whitespace. This tool is mostly needed by Content Writers and even Copywriters. While creating ad copies for Facebook campaigns or filling text boxes on forms with a character limit, an easy way to stay within the required limits is to use this tool. 

Although word processing platforms like Ms-Word or Google Docs have a word count tool that does similar functions, Counting Characters still offers other digital marketing solutions. Some of those tools and functions available are Google SERP tool, XML sitemap generator, link building tool, online slug generator, image converter tools, add watermark to images, HTML to PDF converter, comma separator tool to create CSV files, password generator, QR code generator, ZIP file maker and extractor, etc.  

Interestingly, if you have the Grammarly plugin active on your browser, Grammarly can check your content while using the Counting Characters website. Counting Characters is one of the rich and free valuable digital tools which you should take advantage of and popularise.

Expanded Text Ad Preview Tool

I never knew there was such an awesome tool that could give a real representation of how your Google text ads will look once launched. As a Copywriter dealing with a lot of ad copies for different media, tools like this are very helpful as you want to be sure that your copies work well together, attract your audience, and achieve your goals. On this tool, you can see all required parts that make up your ad copy like the headlines, descriptions and even the final URL you intend to use. 

After creating about four to six samples of your headline and three to four descriptions, all you need to do next is to copy them into the preview tool. Adjust their word counts and see how all your intended headlines and descriptions will sound/look when combined as an expanded text ad. That’s not all. You can select and include other extensions you’ll love to show with your ads. For example, a site link, callout, message, location, price, and more. Additionally, you can share your ad preview with your client or colleague by clicking the ‘share’ button and copying the links. You also have the option of exporting the ad preview to an XLS file.

The Expanded Text Ad Preview Tool is one of the brilliant digital marketing tools you can find on Karooya.com. And right on their website, there’s a tool for Copywriters, SEO and PPC experts, so check it out.

Workbench Text Extractor Tool 

A client needed me to rework their company brochure which was about 40 pages long (with pictures). I had requested an e-copy of the document but unfortunately, it was no longer available. All I got was about 40 screenshots of the brochure which was sent to my e-mail address. While searching for an easy way to work on this task, I did some research and found this free valuable digital tool for extracting text from ANY image. This really got me excited and had to be on this list.

Workbench Text Extractor Tool is one of the free brand solutions powered by Brandfolder. With this tool, all your worries about retyping documents in image format don’t exist anymore. Simply upload the image from your Google Drive, Dropbox, URL, or Local Device. Before clicking upload, you can crop, circle, or rotate the image. Once you upload it, it extracts the text from the image in no time then you can copy the text and paste it wherever you need it.

Google Primer

Years back, as a newbie Content Writer, I needed to learn more about business operations, customers, and email marketing tips, so a friend recommended this app. Ever since then, it has been extremely valuable. As a part of the Grow with Google initiative, Google introduced the Primer app which they described as a free, fast, and easy way to learn new business and digital skills. To be frank, this app does that and more. If you lack the luxury of time but would love to learn all the tips, tricks, and hacks, to get started with your business or would love to acquire digital skills, this is a great start for you. 

Some of the interesting lessons you can take on this app include Business Operations: business planning, money management, customer service, staffing, selling, workplace inclusivity and productivity, employee management, etc. Under Brand Identity and Marketing, you can learn digital marketing, branding, user experience, tracking and analytics, social media marketing, video marketing, email marketing, content marketing, mobile app promotion, agency management, and so much more.

In 5 minutes or less, you can consume these bite-sized jargon-free lessons prepared by a small team at Google who have partnered with top industry experts to teach and train individuals and businesses in need of these skills.  If you are keen on getting digital knowledge, this is one resource you mustn’t overlook or underestimate. The Google Primer app is available for Android and iOS users on the app store.

Form Creators or Survey Tools

In this category, there are three free valuable digital tools I highly recommend any business owner should try if they want to get real data from their customers. They are Typeform, SurveyMonkey and Google Forms. Before creating a new product or launching your new service, it will be beneficial if you create a team in charge of research. The feedback you get from your respondents would form the basis of whatever decision you make in the end. 

You can try out Typeform or SurveyMonkey. Create your free or premium account, select a template that appeals to you, build your form and format where necessary without any technical knowledge needed. Now, it’s time to send it out to your customers or target audience. There are various sharing methods. You can decide to generate a URL that you can forward to people, embed the form on your website, or launch it in an email campaign. Lastly, you will need to check out the analytics side of things. You can see individual responses, all responses, completion rate, and even generate survey reports that can be shared.

 If you are new to creating and taking online surveys, you might want to start with Google Forms. It affords you a completely free package without any limits in the number of questions you can create or responses you can receive. The major downside of this tool is the fact that it has a limited amount of question formatting styles. For example, you can’t create questions that include visual elements like images or videos. Also, you might experience some collaboration issues if you have to work with a team in charge of creating the surveys. All in all, it remains a great digital tool as it presents the analytics and responses in a clear and simple manner. It is also easy to use without prior experience or knowledge and anyone with a Google account can make use of it.

Piktochart

If you are familiar with Canva, then you’ll have an idea of what the Piktochart tool is and its uses. Unlike Canva where you can create, design, or manipulate simple images, Piktochart allows you to create infographics, presentations, posters, reports, flyers, or any visual item involving a mixture of text and images. You can brand your creation as you desire, using your logo, brand colours, fonts and other elements. Templates and images are available for use right on this tool; this means you don’t need to download and import files here and there. Of course, Piktochart has a free plan for its users so, try it out.

Pocket

If you find something that interests you online but can’t check it out immediately, save it in Pocket. In fact, even after going through the resource, you might still love to go over it again. Pocket helps you keep and access all saved links and information all in one place. This makes it extremely easy to access when you need it. It works for blogs, websites, YouTube, all social media platforms, and anywhere else. When reading saved resources in your Pocket app, it is void of distraction, works offline, and on any device. One of the unique features of the Pocket app is the voice feature. So instead of reading everything, you can simply click ‘Play’ and enjoy assimilating the knowledge you’ve sought after.

GitHub

This is the last free valuable digital tool we’ll be looking into. GitHub is home to Software Developers, IT engineering companies, and techies around the world. With this tool, Developers can save up their code in the cloud, collaborate with teammates, and a community at large. Some of the most amazing features on this platform are the ability to create a product roadmap, see changes you make on your code or get notified when collaborators make changes to codes in a repository, automate your processes and workflow, secure your codes as you create them, and a lot more. If you want to find out how to make the best use of GitHub as a Developer or an organisation, you should visit their website to see all that happens there.

It’s been an awesome ride learning about some of the most amazing free valuable digital tools I use to improve my productivity or ease my work processes. Some other tools that are worth trying are Feedly, Bitly or Cuttly, Google Slide, Google Drive or Dropbox, etc. Is there a golden tool you make use of that you’ll love to share with us? Drop it in the comment section and let’s keep learning together. Content Creators can also read up our guide on how to use content creation tools, enjoy!